Sheriff: 2 Who Shot At Cars Must Pay

OCALA — Two investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Department have been disciplined for shooting at cars they thought were fleeing from officers involved in an undercover drug buy.

Lt. Fred LaTorre, 38, head of the criminal investigations division for about 18 months, has been suspended without pay for a week, said sheriff's Maj. Dan Henry.

Investigator Tom Tittle, 32, received an 8 percent cut in pay, lost the right to use a department car and has been reassigned to a desk job in the communications division, Henry said.

He said Marion County Sheriff Don Moreland, who announced the punishment Tuesday, believed both men violated department rules on the use of firearms.

The shooting occurred Saturday along a dirt road northeast of Ocala, where undercover investigators with the sheriff's department, the Ocala Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had arranged to buy 2.2 pounds of cocaine.

Confusion hit the operation when an FDLE agent radioed for help after taking the two suspects into custody, Henry said.

LaTorre and Tittle, riding in a truck, moved in and saw two cars trying to leave.

Tittle fired seven shots at what turned out to be an unmarked police car occupied by an Ocala police officer and an FDLE agent, Henry said.

LaTorre fired one shot at a car occupied by a teen-ager and two adults, he said. Other investigators had told the driver to leave.

Neither car was hit.

Both officers were suspended immediately after the incident, and the state attorney's office was called to investigate. Prosecutors found no grounds for charges, Henry said.

Despite the mix-up, the two suspects were arrested and a kilo of cocaine was confiscated, Henry said.